It’s sad, really, and especially ironic that we find ourselves engaging in a national debate over Dr. King’s speech where a few thousand African Americans used their podium to rail against how far they still have to go to achieve King’s dream while a hundred times that many Americans cried out for going back to that place from whence King came as he pursued his dream; God.

The fact that Sharpton, like King, is a Reverand would lead most of us to expect invocations of God and our greater purpose in pursuing Him in our daily lives and our struggle for equality. King mentioned God four times in his I have a Dream speech, and Beck mentioned God twice in the first 5 minutes of his own “Restoring Honor” speech at the Lincoln Memorial…a few steps and 47 years away. Sharpton mentioned God not once in his own speech, choosing instead to refer to “us” and “them” and “we” and “they” on multiple occasions while simultaneously calling for unity:

Whichever of these two approaches one chooses to adopt, “Restoring Honor” or deepening the American divide because “the Dream has not been achieved” depends on one’s point of view. Move forward, inspired by hope that is derived from what has already been accomplished, or stand still…fists clenched…trapped by what hasn’t.